Advances in aluminum recycling that can help secure U.S. supply chains are the goals of a new five-year, $2.5 million research partnership between the University of Michigan and Norway-based company Hydro. 

Hydro, one of the world's largest aluminum companies, operates two facilities in Michigan—a research and development hub in Troy and a $150 million metal recycling plant in Cassopolis. The recycling plant opened in 2023 as part of Hydro's push to grow its U.S. manufacturing capabilities. 

This collaboration with the U-M College of Engineering is the company's first research partnership with an American university. It establishes the Center for Recycling, Extrusion, and Aluminum Technology, or CREATe Partnership. Extrusion is the process of pushing hot aluminum alloys through a die to form various shapes such as components of cars, aircraft or infrastructure. The word can also refer to the product created through the extrusion process.

"This partnership brings together top minds in materials science and manufacturing to expand what's possible in recycling aluminum, a metal that packs incredible strength into a lightweight form and has become one of the world's most widely used engineering materials," said Karen A. Thole, the Robert J. Vlasic Dean of Engineering at U-M. "Both Michigan Engineering and Hydro see tremendous potential to strengthen our state and nation’s leadership in this area, and create solutions that can shape a more resilient future together."

The CREATe Partnership builds on a collaboration already underway funded by the U.S. Department of Energy to establish a Midwest circular economy in automotive aluminum. 

Demand for aluminum has been increasing over the past decade as its utility in energy efficiency became apparent. Lightweight aluminum alloys contribute to better fuel economy in cars and trucks, and they're essential components of solar panels and power lines. 

While aluminum is considered endlessly recyclable, each cycle introduces impurities—especially iron—that can weaken the metal and limit its use in high-performance applications. The collaboration will combine Hydro’s production expertise with Michigan Engineering's strengths in alloy design and manufacturing science to develop aluminum alloys that remain strong even after multiple life cycles. 

The partnership includes three projects focused on how to address impurities.

One team will explore whether applying a low electric current to recycled aluminum while it's solidifying can reduce the effect of iron impurities that degrade performance in generations beyond the first. This team is led by Alan Taub, the Robert H. Lurie Professor of Engineering in materials science and engineering and mechanical engineering. Taub is also director of the U-M Electric Vehicle Center. 

Another group will take aim at iron impurities with a chemical, rather than electrical approach. Led by Ashwin Shahani, associate professor of materials science and engineering, this team will explore whether adding chemical elements to alloys can reduce the impact of impurities. Also involved in this effort are Katsuyo Thornton, the L.H. and F. E. Van Vlack Professor of Materials Science and Engineering; and Daniel Cooper, associate professor of mechanical engineering. 

A third team will use advanced computational tools and experiments to design alloys and processes that can tolerate higher percentages of recycled material. John Allison, the William F. Hosford Collegiate Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, leads this project, which uses computational tools he honed while working at Ford for several decades before joining U-M. Allison will also establish a pilot research-focused master's degree track to more closely connect the curriculum to industry needs.

"Further deployment of aluminum across market segments is absolutely possible – but there are still limitations today. And those can only be solved by …having commercial visionaries join forces with academic visionaries," said Eivind Kallevik, CEO of Hydro.